The blog of EagleSoft Ltd. Here, at EagleSoft Labs, I post about the development of my various retro homebrew, software, electronics, and indie video game projects, as well as review software, and post other geeky/nerdy stuff.

A v1.1 update of UAHDX (Ultra Air Hockey DX) is being created for PC/Mac/Linux, as well as a new port to Android KitKat! This updated version will fix some serious bugs, includingpoor flipper AI and flipper positioning in Pinball mode, fixing of the score digits upon gameover (they were at the wrong angle); the inability to use the pause, respawn paddle, and respawn puck cheats/features if powerups are disabled; the pinballs freezing their velocity upon first spawn, and improper paddle raycasting. It also obviously adds digital buttons for the controls in the Android version. No online multiplayer yet; it will be implemented in v1.2 (which will hopefully be the final major version.)

Left clicks are performed by tapping with one finger,
and right clicks are performed by holding one finger and tapping with another finger.
This controls powerup selection and left/right flipper flipping

At the advice from a few colleagues, EagleSoft Ltd has decided to move its old, standard Google Sites EagleSoft Ltd web address (https://sites.google.com/site/eaglesoft92/) to its own, professional, custom domain (www.eaglesoftltd.com)! Currently, both site addresses still work, but it is recommended to now use the new domain and to update your bookmarks! The updated website is still hosted and powered by Google Sites, while the custom domain is handled by a domain registrar. Furthermore, with namecheap. We are trying to configure the old domain to forward to the new domain if possible, as well as trying to move this blog's old address (http://eaglesoftlabs.blogspot.com/) to its own possible subdomain (probably www.blog.eaglesoftltd.com).

Starting in October 2014, EagleSoft Ltd worked on its first Indie Unity3D video game, Ultra Air Hockey DX, not only for fun and for software engineering experience, but also as a university project for a Fundamentals of Software Engineering class programming project. This project was much more difficult than we first imagined, since we had to self-teach ourselves and to learn quickly a new programming language (C#), a game engine (Unity3D), and fundamentals of software engineering, including creating documentation such as an SRS, a Gantt chart, and a plethora of other documents. Nevertheless, through hard work and persistence, we finally finished programming the game in early January of 2015, and are ready to release it as a purchasable download from the shop section of the website! The game is currently available for Windows 7 (x86/x64), Mac OS X (x86/x64/universal), and Linux 10.04 (x86/x64/universal). A demo of the game for all of the previous OS and bit combinations is also available (the demo only has Air Hockey mode available) on the UAHDX Page and at the shop (for free).

Everything is finished with the game (all powerups, all 3 modes, and all game assets), except for online multiplayer. We plan on implementing this complex feature, as well as any other bug fixes, post-mortem as a update patch.

Below is an advertisement for the game, showing off all of the gameplay features.

For those whom have visited the EagleSoft Ltd website from Novemeber 2014 to February 2015, some may have noticed a new "Store" tab on the page's navigation bar; however, many were disappointed with the contents of the page:

However, after finding some free time and after finishing the development of Ultra Air Hockey DX, I finally implemented The EagleSoft Store (See first picture)! The store is powered by PayPal, and payments can be done through PayPal either by using your own personal PayPal account or by using PayPal to safely and securely pay be debit/credit card. For products, the store consists of an image, a description, and an "Add to Cart" button. Items in the cart can be viewed by clicking the "View Cart" button.

Digital products (such as downloads for games) will be sent via an email, which will either have the files attached directly to the email (if the size is small), or will contain a link to download the item (if the file is large). By keeping this email, customers can have lifetime access to their purchased digital products, and can download any updates to their purchased products as they appear. Although we currently only have one product (Ultra Air Hockey DX), more products shall appear in the future, potentially including physical products (such as repro carts for Sega Genesis homebrew games).

Test transaction to myself for a test download, showing the concept:

We hope you find interest in the store and our products, both present future, useful and entertaining!

About Me

Tamkis is a college graduate with a B.S. degree in software engineering, who is pursuing a career as a software engineer and a video game developer. He owns the website EagleSoft Ltd, where he posts his hobby and professional software and video games he developes, and is passionate about both retro and indie video game development.